Hydraulic fracturing improves well productivity by creating high-permeability flow passages extending through a reservoir to a wellbore. Hydraulic fracturing includes hydraulically injecting a fracturing fluid, e.g. fracturing slurry, into a wellbore that penetrates a subterranean formation. The fracturing fluid is directed against the formation strata under pressure until the strata is forced to crack and fracture. Proppant is then placed in the fracture to prevent collapse of the fracture and to improve the flow of fluid, e.g. oil, gas or water, through the reservoir to the wellbore.
In many fracturing operations, proppant is delivered and mixed with a clean carrier fluid to create the proppant fluid or slurry. The slurry is then pumped by a series of pumps to a common manifold or missile and delivered to a wellhead for injection downhole under pressure. The heterogeneity of the proppant in the proppant fluid can be helpful in improving the conductivity of the fractures once the proppant is injected into the fractures. However, the use of multiple pumps and the design of the overall fracturing system can effectively mix the proppant through the clean fluid and create a substantially homogeneous slurry.